The first case outside Africa of the more dangerous Clade 1 variant of Mpox has been diagnosed in Sweden, the country's Public Health Agency said on Thursday.
A person seeking medical care in Stockholm, Sweden's capital, was "diagnosed with Mpox caused by the Clade I variant", the agency said, the first such case in the country.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global public health emergency on Wednesday, after the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries.
The WHO emergency committee that endorsed issuing the alarm expressed that it was concerned Mpox could "spread beyond Africa to other regions of the world", chairman Dimie Ogoina said.
"Its detection in neighbouring countries that had not previously reported Mpox and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying,” WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“It's clear that a co-ordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives."
The WHO said more imported Clade 1 Mpox cases were likely to be confirmed in Europe soon, after Sweden's announcement.
"The confirmation of Mpox Clade 1 in Sweden is a clear reflection of the interconnectedness of our world ... there are likely to be further imported cases of Clade 1 in the European region over the coming days and weeks," the WHO's European regional office said in a statement.
Samuel-Roger Kamba, the Democratic Republic of Congo's Health Minister, said the country had recorded 15,664 potential cases and 548 deaths "since the beginning of the year", affecting all of its 26 provinces.
Mr Kamba said the government had put in place a "national strategic plan for vaccination against Mpox", as well as improving surveillance of the disease at borders and checkpoints.
He said that at government level, working groups have been set up to boost contact tracing and help to gather resources to "maintain control of this epidemic".
It is the second time the WHO issued an emergency on Mpox in two years, after about 100,000 cases spread in non-endemic countries in 2022.
The current outbreak is seen as potentially more of a threat because of a more transmissible and deadlier Mpox Clade 1, and its new mutated variant called Clade 1b.
The WHO's decision followed the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's declaration of a continental health emergency on Tuesday.
The declaration of a public health emergency of international concern is the highest level of alarm the WHO can issue, and it frees up finances and resources for attempts to contain the virus.
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Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Tickets
Tickets start at Dh100 for adults, while children can enter free on the opening day. For more information, visit www.mubadalawtc.com.
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
No Shame
Lily Allen
(Parlophone)
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
